Menu

Book Covers

For the last week or so I have been working on updating the covers for my Amelia Bennett Chronicles. Not because I dislike the current covers, but because during a recent computer restore the original cover was lost.

I know, I know, why didn’t I back it up? I have no excuse, I know better, and I am now paying the price. I back up everything I write, but for whatever reason never thought to back up my original cover.

I suck.

Anyway, Episode Four is with beta readers so I would like to be able to publish it soon. Since I did actually do some branding with this series I want to keep the covers similar. I can’t afford a cover artist right now so I downloaded a free trial of Photoshop and decided to do it on my own.

I hate covers.

A lot.

A whole lot.

I thought I hated titles, they are nothing next to covers.

So I say now.

So after a couple late nights (something I advise against when you have to take care of a four-month old) I created this (sorry for the bad images, I didn’t save it and only have a crappy cell phone pic):

I was pretty proud of it, until my sister told me it looked like a praise and worship book. Damnit. She was right.

I can’t afford stock art so I was using images that she had taken (she’s a photographer and attractive so she’s also my cover model) so I really didn’t want to change the images. So I created this:

I was actually pretty happy with this one. Then I made the cover for Episode Three since I had a photo for it:

The lightning was blue, which does not work for my character because I specify the color of lightning she can shoot. I made the lightning last year during another free trial of Photoshop and I couldn’t remember how I’d done it so I had to look it up and start all over again.

Did I mention I hate covers?

Why can’t being a writer be just about writing? Why do people have to get so hung up on covers? Bastards.

Anyway, after several days, and text messages back and forth between my husband, mother, and sister I finally came up with this:

I’m about 90% positive this is what the final result it going to be. I’m hoping that it looks professional and not like the newb that I am created it. I really went with branding because it’s a series and I want that to be obvious.

I thought about putting it up on the kindleboards, creating my own thread and everything, but I just don’t have the balls to do it. Instead I’m posting on my blog and then going to post in the recently updated your blog thread and hope that my wonderful followers will give me their honest (but not brutally honest) feedback.

Covers seem to be the least favourite part of most writer’s self-publishing journey. I love the covers though, the colours are nice, it’s clean and simple and can easily read the title and author name 🙂 Well done!